Preparing the capsule for ExoMars drop

Engineers prepare an ExoMars dummy descent module for release above the Arctic Circle at an altitude of nearly 30 km, or about three times the altitude where commercial aircraft cruise. 

A stratospheric helium balloon was used to lift the mockup ExoMars descent module to mimic the combination of density and speed that the capsule will experience when diving into the thin martian atmosphere – about 1% of the density of Earth's atmosphere at sea level. The dummy capsule then went into free-fall for about 20 seconds, reaching almost the speed of sound, before deploying the parachutes in turn.

Two parachutes deployed from their doughnut bags and successfully slowed down an ExoMars mock-up landing platform for a safe touchdown on Earth.

Landing on Mars is a high-risk endeavour. In just six minutes, the descent module has to decelerate from 21 000 km/h at the top of the planet’s atmosphere to a soft landing to keep its precious cargo, the Rosalind Franklin rover, fit for surface exploration.

The high-altitude drop test took place at the Swedish Space Corporation’s Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, northern Sweden, on 7 July.